The Top 5 Lessons of this Semester

Hola todos,

I absolutely cannot believe that my first semester in Buenos Aires is over! I've learned a lot in the past 3 and a half months, so I wanted to share these lessons with you all! Some of them are about studying abroad, some are about Argentina, and some are pretty applicable to life in general. I hope you enjoy!

1) Less plastic, more fabric (or whatever cash is made of...)

I usually don't carry around cash with me in the States. At most, 10 dollars. Otherwise, I just use my credit card because of the convenience. However, here in BA a lot of places don't accept credit card. If they do, you don't want to use it because of the official exchange rate compared to the blue dollar rate (explained in this post). The point is, using a credit card here in BA can cost you 1.5 to 2 times the cost of cash! Carrying cash with you is a little scary at first, but discretion is key. Also, having a limited supply of money with you limits your spending, and giving tangible cash over to the cashier feels worse than a plastic card, so I find that I spend less. This leads me to...

2) Budget your money

This one is huge! I never really budgeted in the US- I just tried to save money where I could and splurged when I felt like it. Fortunately, I rarely got a surprise credit card bill (only around the time when I purchased text books). Now, however, I have a limited supply of cash to draw from every month. This has forced me to really consider what I purchase. It stops me from splurging or "treating myself" too often, and it keeps me honest about how much I have spent and on what items.

3) Look up, even if infrequently

Looking up while walking down the streets is pretty risky here in BA. You have these good intentions of looking at the city around you and checking out these historic buildings and streets but then you step in dog poop. It's happened to pretty much everyone in our group (I looked up for just a second to say goodbye to a friend when... SPLAT!). You make that mistake only once, trust me.
But it's quite a pity to stare at the ground when you are walking everywhere in the city, so even if it's dangerous, I suggest that you look up. Stop and look up. Or scan the ground ahead of you for potential dangers and then briefly glance towards the sky. The view of the top of the city is much more beautiful than the cracked sidewalks you would otherwise look at.

5) Trust your gut

Coming from life-long experience in American Suburbia, street-smart was not my primary instinct. Being in a big, urban city, not to mention a foreign one, has heightened my street-sense. I finally admitted that in a machismo society like that of Buenos Aires, I probably shouldn't walk the streets alone at night as a female, especially as a blonde. And even though that street vendor looks like a sweet little man and his choripan (yummy sausage-like meat in bread, like a hot dog or bratwurst) smells enticing, I now quiet my stomach and remind myself of my weak American immune system that can't handle slightly-sketchy street food.

3) Take a leap of faith

While here in BA, I jumped off of a moving bus. Crazy, right!? I was trying to get off of the bus to get to school when the driver suddenly pulled away from the curb and started to head into traffic. I made a split-second decision and jumped, hitting the ground running. I didn't fall (Tina-1, gravity-0) and didn't step in dog poop (Tina-2, gravity-0).
We've all heard the maxim about taking a leap of faith. Go for it, take a chance, it's worth the risk. This whole abroad experience has been one huge leap of faith. I didn't know who I was living with until one week before I arrived. I didn't know anything about my class schedule or teachers until I arrived. I barely knew the people accompanying me on this journey, and I knew little about modern Argentine culture. The only things I had going for me were my Spanish speaking and comprehension skills. And for a person who likes to plan things out far in advance, to know where she will be, with who, on what day, and what time, this, as you can imagine, was ridiculously scary.
But I made my decision to leap off of the bus of standard academia onto the street of study abroad. I hit the ground running, and have had amazing experiences and a successful trip thus far!

I have taken my last final, and I now have plans to travel in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Peru- but don't worry! I will still be posting pictures and stories from my adventures and cultural findings during my "summer" break (remember- summer months in the Southern Hemisphere are winter months in the Northern Hemisphere!). Cheers to an awesome semester, and I can't wait for the adventures to come!

Besos,

Tina the Exploradora